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Date	Original Topic
28th November 2001	why the defeat at Isandhlwana and the massive victory at Rorkes drift? By michael please please help me with this history question, if you have any thoughts on this question then please E-mail me. thanks
Date	Replies
28th November 2001	Stephen Hi Michael Its really not a complicated question & I'm sure that Alan, Ian and others will add their thoughts to it, but here goes... Read the accounts on this web site and on the Anglo-Zulu War Society web site. It will become clear. In a nutshell, Isandlwana defeat was a culmination of errors by various commanders...Chelmsford, Dunford on down to Pullien. It's just one of those examples of where a series of command decisions resulting in a surprising defeat. One that defied logic. Similar in scope to the defeat at Little Big Horn. The victory at Rorke's Drift is due to decisions made by Chard,Bromhead and others. They just were the best for the circumstances. In the final analysis these decisions were backed up by the guts and heroism of the troops manning Rorke's Drift. It's important to understand that the British had the best trained and best disciplined army in the world at this time. I'd suggest that your get your hands on a copy of the following books: The Zulu War by David Clammer The Washing of Spears by Donald Morris Lastly, check out the links from the Rorke's Drift web site. CHEERS - Stephen OTTAWA Canada
28th November 2001	Peter Critchley Michael, To add to what Stephen has said, it could also be argued that the British defeat at Isandhlwana was just as much a victory for the Zulu. It is certainly true that they capitalised on key mistakes that the commanders made, but again, we it not for the fact that they were ready and skilled enough to capitalise in this way, it is unlikely that they would have been victorious just by sheer good fortune. Of course, these things are never clean-cut, but the gist of what is being said is certainly true. Peter Webmaster
4th December 2001	Arthur Bainbridge The victory at Isandhlwana was a costly one for the zulus as britain then used its full military might to crush them,its a great pity things could not have worked out peacefully brave men died on both sides